The world's most influential leaders are thrashing out strategies to improve the plight of the poor in Africa. But many aid agencies stress that genuine economic development must come from small-scale projects as well as large international initiatives. BBC News Online tells the tale of three local entrepreneurs.

In the space of five years, Mariam Jaras Dirassouba has risen from being a housewife to being a bank manager.

She had been unemployed with no access to credit and few opportunities to generate cash to support her family.

Now she has the authority to grant loans of up to $1,000 to local people wanting to start out in business.

The challenge ahead is to keep recreating the bank on a larger scale

Mohammed MahmoudOxfam, Mali

It all began when a group of Malian women started borrowing small sums of money of up to $50 from an Oxfam-backed local organisation.

With their loans, the women pioneered money-making projects, including selling spices or kindling in the local markets.

Having experienced the benefits of credit, the women demanded training to set up a cooperative bank to help their friends and neighbours.

With 260 women now involved, the bank has grown to the point where it can issue loans big enough to finance much more ambitious business plans, including a mango juice factory and a cloth dying business.

Mali's formal banking sector is a no-go area for many women

Mme Jaras Dirassouba has risen to be in charge of the bank, and is guiding its growing contact with Mali's formal banking system.